Boyfriend Shirt

Lu Yan put his headphones back on and began planning the first character.

His idea was actually quite clear. Blonde hair, young lady, blue eyes-put those together, and he more or less had a picture.

But whenever he tried to put pen to paper and sketch the girl's features, Aemeath, sitting beside him, would make some ill-timed noise.

"Oh, A-Yan~ My shoulders are so sore." Aemeath sprawled limply across the desk, turning her face to look at him.

Lu Yan put down his pen helplessly and gently massaged her shoulders. "Did going out shopping tire you out?"

"Maybe." Aemeath enjoyed Lu Yan's massage, but her eyes slid toward the screen. "How big are you planning to make this blonde girl's breasts?"

Lu Yan's hands paused. He cleared his throat. "Normal proportions should be fine. Maybe a C or D cup?"

"No." Aemeath suddenly sat up straight and thrust out her own chest as she spoke with perfect confidence.

"Make her flat-chested! She's a young lady, so she should be a little aloof. If her breasts are too big, she'll look clumsy."

Lu Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "That doesn't fit popular tastes..."

"Are popular tastes more important, or are mine?" Aemeath leaned over and breathed into his ear. "Or do you actually want to draw some big-breasted blonde girl so you can fantasize about her?"

"I'll do it. I'll make her flat, all right?" Lu Yan hurriedly raised his hands in surrender.

So, over the next two hours, Lu Yan drew an "adult" blonde loli under Aemeath's supervision.

Paired with that gentle gaze, her figure gave her an unexpectedly distinctive charm.

"Not bad. Just like that." Aemeath nodded in satisfaction. "Next, what about that white-haired tomboy?"

Lu Yan rubbed the spot between his eyebrows and began drawing the second character.

He had intended to draw a biker girl in cargo pants and sunglasses, with a piercing gaze.

But Aemeath spoke up again. "Since she's a tomboy, her pose should be rougher."

"Have her sit cross-legged in a chair, eating a lollipop. Make her look fierce, like a little punk."

Lu Yan did as Aemeath said.

As he worked on the details, he kept unconsciously adding highlights to the girl's pupils.

"Wait." Aemeath suddenly pressed down on his hand, her voice taking on a subtle note. "A-Yan, why are you drawing stars in her pupils?"

Lu Yan froze.

He looked at the eyes. Sure enough, without knowing when, he had habitually drawn Aemeath's signature cross-shaped stars in the white-haired girl's pupils.

"My hand just did it." He scratched the back of his head, feeling a little guilty.

Aemeath looked at those eyes, and her jealousy suddenly vanished.

She reached out and touched the eyes on the screen, her expression turning a little dazed.

Aemeath knew he was drawing someone else, but she was the one on his mind from beginning to end.

"Dummy." Aemeath suddenly hugged Lu Yan from behind.

The soft sensation made the hand holding his pen tremble slightly.

"Go on, draw. I won't bother you anymore."

Aemeath rested her head against his back, her voice soft. "No matter how many heroines you draw, there'll only be room for my reflection in their eyes."

Lu Yan said nothing. He reached out and held the hands Aemeath had clasped around his waist.

The sound of pen strokes filled the room again. He removed the stars from the eyes and redrew them.

At ten that night, the first drafts of the three character illustrations were finally complete.

All three illustrations bore Aemeath's personal touches, but those distinctive character designs filled the pictures with tension.

Lu Yan saved the drafts and clicked send, delivering them to Miss Lin.

Her reply came almost instantly.

Miss Lin: [Oh my god! Little Lu, your style has completely changed! This blonde loli mama is amazing. And this white-haired tomboy has a pretty good vibe too. But this Japanese-style girl is such a classic.]

Miss Lin: [The client is very pleased. The remaining payment will be sent to you first thing tomorrow morning. If these characters get merchandise in the future, you'll definitely get your share!]

Lu Yan looked at the praise on the screen, but felt nothing in particular.

He turned off the monitor and looked down at Aemeath, who was resting against him.

Lu Yan looked at her, and the warmth of being needed and depended on soothed both his body and mind.

"Aemeath, it's almost eleven," Lu Yan said softly, rubbing his temples.

"Go take a shower, and we'll get ready for bed."

"Bedtime~" A playful smile appeared on Aemeath's face. "Then will A-Yan sleep with me?"

"Stop fooling around. Go take your shower." Lu Yan's face went bright red as he helped Aemeath up and gently pushed her toward the bathroom.

Only when the faint sound of running water came from the bathroom did Lu Yan realize a serious problem: they had only bought one set of everyday clothes at the mall.

He couldn't very well have Aemeath put that outfit back on to sleep after her shower.

Lu Yan scratched his head and thought for a moment.

"Um, Aemeath?" Lu Yan walked to the bathroom door, his voice sounding a little awkward through the frosted glass. "I just realized I seem to have forgotten something important."

The sound of running water stopped abruptly.

"What is it, A-Yan?"

Aemeath's voice came through the steam, carrying a hint of moisture that made his heart skip half a beat.

"I forgot that there don't seem to be any spare clothes for you." He awkwardly touched the back of his head.

"After you finish, why don't you wear mine for now?"

"I've put them on the rack by the door. There's a white shirt and a pair of athletic shorts. They're both clean."

The bathroom fell silent for a moment, then a muffled reply came. "Sure. I'm not picky."

Lu Yan returned to his computer desk as if fleeing for his life, not daring to imagine what Aemeath would look like in his clothes.

He could only stare fixedly at the drawing he had already saved, trying to use work as a reason to suppress the heat rising inside him.

He didn't know how much time passed before the bathroom door lock clicked softly.

Lu Yan turned around instinctively, and in that instant, his mind went blank.

Steam drifted out like a thin mist as Aemeath emerged in her pink fuzzy slippers.

Aemeath was drying her wet pink hair with a towel. Her chest stretched the shirt out, outlining her breasts.

The hem of the shirt was tucked into the athletic shorts. There was little difference in their heights, so his shorts came just past the tops of Aemeath's thighs, revealing a pair of shapely, fair legs tinged a faint pink from her bath.

The sight was more provocative than any character illustration he had ever drawn.

Aemeath looked like a little fox just pulled from the water, with both a mature woman's allure and an endearing innocence.

"A-Yan~ What do you think? This is called a boyfriend shirt, right?" Aemeath tilted her head, a sly light flashing in her eyes.

She deliberately spun around in front of Lu Yan, bringing a waft of fragrance with her.

Aemeath lowered her head and sniffed the collar. "It smells just like A-Yan. It makes me feel so safe~"

Lu Yan felt a rush of heat shoot straight to his head.

With such blatant temptation before him, the fragile defenses in his heart began to crack.

"Ahem... ahem... It looks good. It fits you." Lu Yan hurriedly looked away, but couldn't resist sneaking glances at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Um, tomorrow... tomorrow I'll go buy you more clothes. Pajamas, loungewear, that sort of thing. I'll get you the best of everything."

"We can talk about tomorrow when it comes." Aemeath hopped lightly onto the bed and sat cross-legged, propping up her chin as she looked at him.

"Then is A-Yan still going to sleep on that hard sofa tonight?"

"The sofa's fine. I'm used to it." Lu Yan spread out the thin blanket a little stiffly.

He ought to give her the best care, even if doing so meant suppressing his instincts as a man.

"But I'm not used to it." Aemeath suddenly jumped off the bed, took a few steps behind Lu Yan, and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind once again.

The thin fabric of the shirt did nothing to block her body heat.

He could feel the warmth and softness of Aemeath's chest pressed tightly against his back, and the sensation nearly made his brain shut down.

Aemeath's voice came softly from behind him. "I just want to be a little closer to you. Is that wrong too?"

Lu Yan sighed and held Aemeath's hands where they overlapped on his stomach. "Aemeath, can you give me a little more time? I still need time to accept this."

"Since A-Yan says he needs time, I'll give you a little more." Aemeath pressed her face against his back.

"But I have one condition."

"What condition?" He was a little puzzled.

"No matter where we move in the future, and no matter how big the house is." Aemeath's fingers tightened a little. "We have to sleep in the same room."

Aemeath's voice grew very faint. "It was so dark beyond the tunnel gate. I'm afraid of the dark when I sleep alone. I want to be able to find you as soon as I wake up."

"Okay~ I promise." Lu Yan smiled and stroked her head, feeling the damp softness of her hair.

He fetched the hair dryer and gestured for Aemeath to sit down.

The hum of the hair dryer echoed through the room as Lu Yan's fingers moved through her pink hair.

He knew that being afraid of the dark was probably just an excuse Aemeath had found to help him gradually accept it.

Lu Yan looked at Aemeath's eyes, narrowed slightly in comfort, and the unease in his heart was soothed as never before.

"There, it's dry." Lu Yan turned off the hair dryer and rubbed her face. "Get into bed and go to sleep."

Aemeath obediently slipped under the covers, leaving only her eyes visible as she watched him.

Lu Yan turned off the main light, leaving only a bedside lamp on.

He lay down on the sofa and pulled the blanket up to his chest.

Aemeath's voice came from the darkness. "A-Yan, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about what color pajamas to buy you tomorrow."

What he was really thinking was how wonderful it would be if life could stay this peaceful and affectionate forever.